CrossFit, Inc. Files FOIA Suit To Compel NIH Foundation, CDC Foundation Transparency On Donors

Crossfit, Inc. Press Release, Oct. 4, 2018

CrossFit, Inc. announced today that it has filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to compel the release of emails from the Foundation for the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Foundation) and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH Foundation) concerning their legally-mandated transparency reports and the concealment of information about the donations both entities receive. The nonprofit U.S. Right to Know is also a plaintiff.

"During a health crisis, a country naturally turns to its national health institutions. And yet, instead of responding effectively to the problems of type-two diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, liver disease, opioid addiction and other chronic diseases, to name just a few, the NIH and CDC have been embroiled in numerous, high profile ethical scandals involving the very industries that have contributed to our Nation's chronic disease and opioid epidemics," the complaint asserts. "Concomitant with those scandals, the CDC Foundation and NIH Foundation have failed to comply with their legal transparency requirements, engaging in opaque partnerships with opioid manufacturers, soda companies, the NFL, and other corporations that represent major and direct conflicts of interest for any institution purported to care for the public's health."

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